The Quick Read: It depends on which of two paths you use. On the asset qualifier path, brokerage balances count at 100% toward covering the whole loan. On the asset depletion path, securities count at 80% and are then spread over 60 months into qualifying income, through select programs in Lendmire’s wholesale network and subject to underwriting. The figures below are ceilings and floors, not offers.
- Asset qualifier path: brokerage, CDs, money market and savings all count at 100%, and the total must equal or exceed the entire loan.
- Asset depletion path: securities count at 80%, cash and CDs at 100%, and usable assets are divided by 60 months to create monthly income.
- Your account is not sold. The lender counts the balance for qualifying only. You keep the holdings invested.
- The assets are documented. No personal income documentation is needed on the qualifier path, but statements are always required.
- Michigan changes nothing about the math. Lendmire arranges consumer mortgage lending in 16 states, Michigan included, and the program figures are the same everywhere.
Two Paths, and Why You Only Get One at a Time
Most borrowers with a big brokerage account ask one question: what percentage of my balance counts? The honest answer starts with a fork. Asset-based mortgages come in two forms, and the brokerage percentage is different on each.
The asset qualifier path is the simpler one. Your eligible assets, after the credit percentages, must equal or exceed the whole loan amount. No employment or income is documented. The assets carry the file.
The asset depletion path works differently. The lender turns your usable assets into a monthly qualifying income by dividing them by 60 months. That income then has to carry the full housing payment and your other debts through a debt-to-income test. Debt-to-income, or DTI, compares your monthly obligations to your monthly income.
You are qualified on one path at a time. The two tables never blend. If a quoted figure doesn’t name its path, ask which one it belongs to.
Across Lendmire’s wholesale network, this is where borrowers get confused. Public pages use asset qualifier, asset depletion, asset utilization and asset dissipation almost interchangeably. They are often describing different tests. A brokerage account at “100%” and one at “80%” can both be correct statements about different programs.
How Much Counts on Each Path
The table shows how each account type is treated. All figures are typical ranges from select programs, subject to underwriting.
| Asset | Qualifier path | Depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage / securities | 100% | 80% |
| Cash, savings, money market | 100% | 100% (cash accounts) |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| Private stock | Not published | 75% |
| Retirement (401(k), IRA) | 90% under 59½; 100% at 59½+ | 70% at any age |
| Real-estate equity | Not published | 60% |
Two things stand out. Your brokerage account is worth more on the qualifier path, which needs no income test. But the qualifier path asks more of the balance: it has to cover the entire loan, not just generate income. An 80% credit on the depletion path can still be enough, because the goal there is a monthly income figure.
Accounts combine on both paths. Your brokerage, savings and retirement balances can be added together, each at its own percentage.
Worked Example: The Qualifier Path
Say you are buying a home and need an $800,000 loan. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts, $300,000 in a 401(k) and $200,000 in savings. You are under 59½.
- Brokerage at 100% counts $330,000.
- The 401(k) at 90% counts $270,000.
- Savings at 100% counts $200,000.
That adds up to $800,000 of usable assets. It matches the loan amount, so the file can qualify on assets alone, subject to the lender’s review. This is an illustration. The lender’s own calculation governs.
Notice what the example does not do. It does not document your salary or ask about your traditional personal-income documentation. It also does not sell anything. The brokerage account stays put.
Worked Example: The Depletion Path
Now flip it. You have $1,500,000 in securities and $300,000 in cash, and you want the assets to act as income.
- Securities at 80% count $1,200,000.
- Cash at 100% counts $300,000.
- Usable assets total $1,500,000.
- Divided by 60 months, that is $25,000 of monthly qualifying income.
That $25,000 then has to carry the housing payment and your other debts through the DTI test. So the brokerage account didn’t count “at 80%” of the loan. It counted at 80% of its balance as an input to income, and the result was tested against your obligations.
The practical takeaway: on this path, every dollar of haircut shrinks monthly income by a smaller amount than you’d guess. Because the haircut is spread across 60 months, even a 20% haircut on a sizable securities balance trims qualifying income by only a modest monthly amount. Shifting some balance into cash or CDs, which count at 100%, can help, but only if you are comfortable holding it that way.
Which Path Fits a Brokerage-Heavy Borrower?
If your balances are large enough to cover the loan outright, the qualifier path is usually the cleaner fit. It skips the DTI test entirely. It also credits brokerage at 100%.
If your assets are large but not large enough to cover the whole loan, the depletion path may fit better. It lets assets work as income, possibly alongside documented income. Asset-derived income may supplement documented income up to a 45% DTI, and when it supplements, the minimum-assets rule is waived.
This split fits a certain kind of borrower: retirees, people who sold a business, recipients of an inheritance or settlement, early-retired professionals, and households living on a portfolio. Their balances are large and their documented income is not. Picture a hypothetical retired couple in Michigan who sold a family business, kept most of the proceeds in a taxable brokerage account, and want a lake-area second home. Their tax return shows modest income. Their statements show real strength. That is exactly the profile these paths were built for.
Leverage and Loan Size
Leverage differs by path and by occupancy. These are ceilings, not offers.
Qualifier path: up to 80% loan-to-value on a purchase and up to 75% on a refinance, for a principal residence or second home. Loans go up to $4,000,000. Whether cash-out proceeds are allowed on this path is set by the lender and is not published, so don’t assume it.
Depletion path:
- A principal residence or second home can go up to 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance, and 60% on a cash-out refinance.
- An investment property can go up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance, and 60% on a cash-out refinance.
- Loans run from $125,000 to $3,500,000.
- Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets.
On the qualifier path, reserves are not required at or below 75% loan-to-value. Above that, the lender sets them. The depletion path has no published reserve months.
For more on how much cash you’d need to put in, Lendmire’s piece How Much Down Payment Does an Asset Qualifier Mortgage Need? walks through the leverage side.
What Counts Oddly, or Not at All
A brokerage statement is not always a clean number. Here is how the edge cases usually play out across the network.
Pledged or borrowed funds. Money pledged against another loan, or borrowed against the account, is not published as eligible on either path. If a margin loan is open against the account, expect the lender to look hard at what is actually yours.
Crypto, precious metals and collectibles. These are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting them into a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account. The lender reviews the source of that money.
Business-titled accounts. Only the borrower’s ownership share is considered, and business accounts beyond that share are not published as eligible.
Ineligible categories on the depletion path. Custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow accounts, foreign funds, cash on hand, stock options, non-vested restricted stock units and funds from non-regulated financial companies are all excluded.
Joint accounts. Many programs want every owner on the account to be on the loan, or the usable share can shrink. Treatment varies by program, so check before you count a spouse’s or parent’s balance.
Double-counting. An account that supplies the depletion income generally can’t also be credited for the interest or dividends it produces. Money used for your down payment and closing costs generally can’t be counted a second time as qualifying assets either, so the pool shrinks before the math runs.
Statements, Seasoning and the Market Dip Problem
Both paths document the assets. “No income documentation” never means “no documentation.”
On the qualifier path, expect 60 days of seasoning and two months of statements for each qualifying account. Seasoning means the funds have been in your account for a minimum period, so the lender knows the money is really yours and didn’t just arrive for the deal.
On the depletion path, statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus a most recent statement within 45 days. Funds from the sale of a business, an inheritance or a legal settlement are excused from that seasoning.
What if the market drops while your file is in process? A brokerage balance is not fixed. On the qualifier path, a smaller balance means fewer usable dollars against the loan amount. If you had little cushion, a bad stretch can leave you short. On the depletion path, a lower balance produces lower monthly income.
The practical move is to build a cushion before you apply. Many borrowers with a thin margin either shorten the loan, add cash, or shift part of the balance into stable holdings. This is a call for you and the lender to make based on the statements in front of you.
A related question comes up often: whether you must liquidate assets to fund reserves. Lendmire’s article Do You Have to Liquidate Assets to Reserve an Asset Qualifier Mortgage? covers that.
Do You Have to Sell the Stocks?
No. The calculation is a qualifying convention. The assets stay invested. Federal rules on ability to repay allow a lender to rely on a borrower’s income or assets, excluding the value of the home that secures the loan. The same rule requires the lender to verify those assets with reasonably reliable third-party records, which is why statements matter.
The federal rule does not set a haircut percentage. The CFPB’s official commentary says the rule does not provide comprehensive underwriting standards. That is why percentages come from each program’s own guidelines, and why they vary from one program to the next.
Selling holdings to raise cash can carry its own costs. Tax treatment can depend on how the funds are used and how the property is held; borrowers should keep clear records and speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction.
For a sense of how bank-side analysts think about the method, a reprint of a federal bank regulator’s bulletin on asset dissipation underwriting lists the topics lenders weigh, such as verifying ownership and value, rates of return and the dissipation periods used. That bulletin applies to banks, not to the programs placed through Lendmire. It’s useful context, not a rulebook.
Credit and Minimums
Credit still matters. The qualifier path publishes a 600 minimum score. The depletion path follows the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix. A first-time investor on the depletion path needs 700.
Housing history is typically 0x30x12, meaning no 30-day lates in the last twelve months. One late is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible. On the depletion path, a housing event needs 4 years of seasoning.
The depletion path also has asset floors. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. And when asset depletion is your only income source, you need at least $250,000 liquid.
Rental Property Is a Different Conversation
Here is where investors should slow down. The qualifier path covers principal residences and second homes. The depletion path allows investment property, at the lower leverage shown above. But if you are buying a rental to hold as a business, the usual route is a DSCR loan, which qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines.
DSCR stands for debt service coverage ratio. It compares a rental’s income to its payment. An asset-based mortgage tests your balance sheet instead. The two can sit side by side in one strategy. A borrower might buy a home on assets and finance rentals on DSCR. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide explains how that second test works.
Common Mistakes
- Counting one account twice. The same money can’t be both a down payment and qualifying assets.
- Using the wrong path’s percentage. Brokerage at 100% belongs to the qualifier path, not the depletion path.
- Ignoring seasoning. A recent transfer into the account may not count until it has aged.
- Assuming crypto or a business account counts. Neither is published as eligible on either path.
- Forgetting that the balance moves. A thin margin can disappear in a down market.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier: a path where eligible assets, after credit percentages, must equal or exceed the full loan amount, with no income documented.
Asset depletion: a path that divides usable assets by 60 months to create monthly qualifying income, which then goes through a debt-to-income test.
Haircut: the share of an account’s balance a lender does not count, usually because of volatility or access limits.
Seasoning: the minimum time funds must sit in your account, shown by statements, before they count.
Usable assets: the total of your balances after each account’s percentage is applied.
Debt-to-income (DTI): your monthly debts compared to your monthly income, used on the depletion path.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Michigan borrower get different brokerage percentages than someone in another state?
No. The program figures do not change by state. Lendmire arranges consumer mortgage lending in 16 states, including Michigan, and the same percentages, leverage and seasoning apply. Local prices and property costs differ, but they are context, not program parameters.
Do I have to sell my stocks to use the account?
No. The balance is counted for qualifying only, and the holdings stay invested. Statements are required to show the assets exist and are yours.
Can my brokerage account cover the down payment and also count as qualifying assets?
Generally not both. Money used for the down payment and closing costs leaves the pool before the lender counts what remains. Plan on funds that cover the deal and a separate balance that supports qualifying.
What if my account is mostly one stock, or has a margin loan?
Those situations get extra scrutiny. Pledged or borrowed funds are not published as eligible, and a concentrated position is still subject to the program’s percentage and the lender’s review. Bring full statements early so the lender can tell you what counts.
Can I use this for a rental property?
Only on the depletion path, at lower leverage: up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance for an investment property. For most rental purchases, a DSCR loan is the more common fit.
Next Step
If you are qualifying on assets rather than income and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare asset-based mortgage options based on your statements, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Lendmire is a mortgage broker, not a lender. Programs are placed through select lenders in its network, every file is underwritten individually, and nothing here is a commitment to lend.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in Michigan page presents the program for Michigan borrowers.
About Lendmire
Lendmire — NMLS# 2371349 — is a mortgage broker that arranges bank statement, P&L-only, 1099-only and asset-based home financing in 16 states through wholesale lenders, on primary residences, second homes and investment properties. Every option is subject to the lender’s guidelines and full underwriting. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
2. CFPB, Regulation Z §1026.43 and commentary
3. Compliance Alliance, reprint of OCC Bulletin 2019-36 on asset dissipation underwriting
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: How Much of a 457 Plan Counts Toward Asset Depletion Income? · Asset Qualifier Mortgage vs Bank Statement Mortgage · How Long Should Money Sit in an Account Before an Asset-Based Mortgage Application?
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Michigan
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Disclosures. The information presented in this article is general market commentary, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) — not a direct lender or depository institution — and loan placement is subject to lender underwriting. Nothing in this content represents a commitment to lend. Loan terms, pricing, and program availability vary based on borrower qualifications, property characteristics, and state of subject property, and are subject to change at any time. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity requirements. Consumer access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.